I cant remain in the present when all this shit is going on in our world. How can it be a good thing to just strive for living in the now ad accepting all when there's so much trouble in the world? Shouldnt we fight to make the world a better place? I mean isnt it just really egoistic to just enjoy your presence when kids are being murdered in Gaza?

isaken wrote:I cant remain in the present when all this shit is going on in our world. How can it be a good thing to just strive for living in the now ad accepting all when there's so much trouble in the world? Shouldnt we fight to make the world a better place? I mean isnt it just really egoistic to just enjoy your presence when kids are being murdered in Gaza?

Of course this question is often raised ... however remember that whatever you fight will persist (as Carl Jung said) ...

When you understand the unity of all things, ONEness, you will know that what happens in the world is not separate from the essence of who you are ... therefore the best way to bring peace in the world is to BE peaceful ourselves ... this is not selfish at all, quite the opposite, because selfishness implies duality, ie. a feeling of being separate from the world ... which you are not ... therefore when you cultivate intentional actions (ie. the 'doing' mode) you just feed this sense of separation ... and increase the conflicts ...

If you want to avoid nightmares, the best thing to 'do' is to have a peaceful life ... ie. the 'being' mode ...

"What irritates us about others is an opportunity to learn on ourselves"(Carl Jung)

isaken wrote:I cant remain in the present when all this shit is going on in our world. How can it be a good thing to just strive for living in the now ad accepting all when there's so much trouble in the world? Shouldnt we fight to make the world a better place? I mean isnt it just really egoistic to just enjoy your presence when kids are being murdered in Gaza?

As we open to life and get out of our box of fear we feel the pain of the world. We can retreat or take action, or a combination of this, of course. All these seem reasonable in various measures thoughout life.

There seem to be two approaches, to generalize broadly, those who primarily seek to change things internally (seeking spiritual/psychological answers) to ameliorate suffering, and those who try to change things externally (materialistic working for selfish or more noble ends).

Onceler wrote:There seem to be two approaches, to generalize broadly, those who primarily seek to change things internally (seeking spiritual/psychological answers) to ameliorate suffering, and those who try to change things externally (materialistic working for selfish or more noble ends).

I think as we grow as human beings a balance is achieved.

Yes. Eventually the boundary between internal and external becomes fuzzier and fuzzier. If you feel one with all of existence, doing the right thing benefits all of existence.

isaken wrote:I cant remain in the present when all this shit is going on in our world. How can it be a good thing to just strive for living in the now ad accepting all when there's so much trouble in the world? Shouldnt we fight to make the world a better place? I mean isnt it just really egoistic to just enjoy your presence when kids are being murdered in Gaza?

Why would acceptance necessarily omit acceptance of compassion as well? Why not see what is true and help others both?

Is presence really a state that comes and goes? Is it true you can't remain present? Can you leave the present moment? Can you be absent?

Is there an objective world that exists free of your perception of it?